Mr. Speaker, we need investments urgently to reduce congestion and avoid further thickening of our border. Our prosperity and our economy depend on this, things like a modern rail tunnel, improved Nexus, and border infrastructure that will reduce wait times.

The Prime Minister's own guidelines say that Treasury Board should “provide oversight of the government's financial management and spending”.

Could the President of the Treasury Board explain why money was siphoned from important border infrastructure projects to get himself re-elected? Why is he more important?

Mr. Speaker, this government has made unprecedented financial commitments to support border infrastructure, nowhere more anywhere in Canada than in Windsor, Ontario, apparent where the government has a strong partnership with the provincial government, a strong partnership with the State of Michigan and a strong partnership with the Obama administration in Washington.

We are working tremendously hard to ensure that trade can flow better across that border. What we need is for New Democrats to stand in their place and say that they support free trade, that they support free trade with the United States, and that they support NAFTA.

Mr. Speaker, the government is tolerating ministers who fail to understand their role or why they are entrusted with money. A $50 million fund was set up for projects that supposedly were related to the G8 summit. I want to remind the ministers and the government that this money was meant to be used to improve border infrastructure, including what is in my riding.

Will our government finally allow the truth to come out on this waste of public money?

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to inform the member that this government under this Prime Minister brought forward an $8 billion building Canada infrastructure program to support economic growth, to support the expansion of the Canadian economy, and all $8 billion of that fund were voted against.

New Democrats voted against every single dollar of that fund. Shame on the member. Shame on the New Democratic Party.

Mr. Speaker, this week Canada's first nations kicked off national efforts for first nations education. Their message is simple every first nation child must have equal access to quality education under control of first nations. This was Shannen Koostachin's dream. Evidence shows education is crucial to breaking cycles of poverty and hopelessness.

Will the government commit today to end the 2% cap on funding, and provide full and adequate support for first nations education?

Mr. Speaker, we are working with our willing partners to improve the educational outcomes of first nations across the country.

That is why the national chief and myself announced the national panel. It is doing good work across the country. It is totally independent. The government has not constrained the panel in any way. Its recommendations should be coming forward in December or January. In the meantime, we will wait to see the good work that it will produce.

Mr. Speaker, most Canadians were profoundly disturbed to learn that the President of the Treasury Board spent $50 million of their hard-earned money the way he did. They are even more disturbed by the fact that he will not get up and explain himself.

I do not know how he can look Canadians in the eyes and tell them that he is behaving responsibly. How can the President of the Treasury Board of all people think that he is beyond the scrutiny of this House when it comes to accountability of public funds?

Mr. Speaker, Infrastructure Canada approved 32 projects to support the G8 infrastructure under the three categories provided. I approved all 32 of those projects. There was a contribution agreement written up for each of those 32 projects.

The Auditor General has made some helpful comments about what we can do to be more transparent to the House of Commons in the future. We fully accept those recommendations and will follow them in the future.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of National Defence made a public declaration that, while a guest at a luxury fishing lodge, neither his host nor his companions had any business dealings with the Government of Canada, and yet the facts speak very differently.

Mr. Rob Crosbie is a political appointee in control of a federal crown corporation that receives $200 million in annual subsidies from which he draws a personal salary. How does the minister square this contradiction and, while I am on my feet, was the fish this big or just this big?

Mr. Speaker, as I said a number of times, I was on personal time in Gander, Newfoundland, with some friends on a trip I paid for myself. As a result of work, I made the decision to go back to work early.

Mr. Speaker, in 2002 the current Prime Minister criticized a minister for staying at a cottage owned by a client of his department. At the time, the current Prime Minister said that he had either acted extraordinarily unethically or extraordinarily stupidly.

My question is for the Prime Minister. When a minister accepts a vacation at a luxury fishing lodge owned by the chair of Marine Atlantic, would he say that minister was acting extraordinarily unethically or extraordinarily stupidly?

Mr. Speaker, as has been made clear, the minister paid for his own vacation, so obviously the facts are different. If anyone in the Liberal Party actually has any evidence that the minister or anyone else acted improperly, he or she can say so outside the House.

Mr. Speaker, the minister continues to keep Canadians in the dark about the price tag of his crime bill. It is all about transparency. Yesterday, the Parliamentary Budget Officer said that this bill will cost billions of dollars, yet this government still will not explain its impact on the country's future.

How can this government be so irresponsible as to force the passage of a bill without disclosing how much it will cost?

Mr. Speaker, we tabled hundreds of pages for the member's edification before the standing committee just before the last election.

However, if he is worried about the costs, I hope that he could just spend a bit of time worrying about the cost to victims in this country, because this is who the bill targets. It gets those violent individuals, those individuals who sexually exploit others and the people in the drug trafficking business off the street, and that should have the support of the hon. member and his party for a change.

Mr. Speaker, it is shocking that the government is ramming the bill through the House and yet refusing to tell Canadians anything about what it costs.

The Parliamentary Budget Officer told us yesterday that it was unprecedented, in his 30-year career, to have such a major piece of legislation that we know will cost billions of dollars. The cost is not turning up in a single government document. There are no budget items on this whatsoever, not a single line anywhere.

When will the government come clean on what it will cost the Canadian taxpayer?